title: Testicular responsiveness to hCG during infancy measured by salivary testosterone.
abstract: To investigate the role of gonadotropins in postnatal testicular activation, testosterone responsiveness to human chorionic gonadotropin was studied in 11 male infants (aged 5-180 days). The boys were given a single im injection of 5000 IU/1.7m2 hCG, and serum and salivary testosterone responses were then measured for 7 days. The results were compared with the serum testosterone responses of 8 older prepubertal boys (aged 1.7-10.4 years) studied with the same protocol. The mean (+/- SEM) basal serum testosterone levels were 2.67 +/- 1.27 nmol/l in the infants and 0.09 +/- 0.02 nmol/l in the prepubertal boys (p less than 0.05). Both groups gave a significant response to hCG stimulation (p less than 0.001, ANOVA, one-way). The stimulated concentrations of serum testosterone were higher in the infants than in the prepubertal boys (p less than 0.001). The mean basal level of salivary testosterone was 30.5 +/- 7.0 and the mean maximal level was 97 +/- 10.3 pmol/l in the infants (p less than 0.001). No age-related changes were observed in either basal or hCG-stimulated levels. In infants the mean (+/- SEM) maximal hCG-stimulated increase was 25 +/- 10-fold in serum and 8 +/- 4-fold in saliva (p = 0.13). A clear stimulatory effect of hCG on testicular testosterone production was found, suggesting that the postnatal increase in serum testosterone concentration in male infants is gonadotropin-mediated. Salivary testosterone concentrations can be increased by hCG, indicating that measurements of salivary testosterone may provide an optional, non-invasive method for assessing gonadal function in children.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dunkel
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Huhtaniemi
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006065:Gonadotropins, Pituitary / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D006065:Gonadotropins, Pituitary; D013739:Testosterone